William Penn Hotel

Address: 160 Eddy Phone: 415-775-5373

The William Penn Hotel houses a Direct Access to Housing (DAH) program for chronic inebriates, providing permanent housing for many formerly homeless and at-risk adults. The implementation of the program has received excellent reviews from the city’s Department of Public Health as a model for further DAH programs. The William Penn, along with the Hamlin, Ritz, and Dalt Hotels, was part of a private developer’s four building renovation project. However, when work on the projects stalled, Chinatown CDC and Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) partnered to assure that these buildings would remain affordable housing and be in the hands of nonprofit owners. Chinatown CDC began managing the William Penn in 1991 as part of The Tenderloin Hotels, LP partnership with TNDC. In 1997, the partnership was amicably dissolved and Chinatown CDC took over the ownership of the project.